Apparatus for the manufacture of pipe.



PATENTED JULY 10, 1906.

A. M. SAUNDERS.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PIPE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1904.

EEEEEEEEEEECEEF U L U U WITNESSES.

c, 2 fi 6 w To all whom it mdy concern.-

AUGUSTUS M. SAUNDERS, OF MGKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL TUBE COL, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPO- RATION OF NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PIPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 1906.

Application filed January 23, 1904. Serial No. 190,329.

Be it known that I, AUeUsTUsM. SAUN- DERS, a resident of McKeesport, in the county of Allegheny'and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for the Manufacture of Pipe; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to the manufacture of welded tubing, and has special reference to the manufacture of what is known as double-length tubing, where the tube is welded in double the ordinary standard length and is severed during finishing into two tubes of the ordinary standard length, its object being to prgvide for the quick handling of the welded tu e. In Letters Patent to Peter Patterson, No.

715,854, of December 16, 1902, isdesciibed apparatus for the manufacture of such tubing in which the welded double-length tube is passed into a feeding-trough and fed to the finishing-rolls and is either severed into two sections before passing through the sizingrolls, or,| if cross-rolls are employed, before passing through the cross-rolls. In employing this apparatus on certain classes of tubmg some difficulty has been experienced consequent the stopping of the tube for sawing and the subse uent feeding of the two sections formed om the single welded tube successively along the same course and through the finishing-rolls.

The object of the present invention is to overcome difiiculties of this character and to provide for the quick finishing of the doublelength tubing and its reduction to sections of proper length; and to these ends it consists,

generally stated, in the combination with the welding-surface and welding apparatus in front of the same, of finishing-rolls adapted to receive and finish the welded tube, a final receiving-trough back of and in line with the finishing-rolls, a tube-support beside the final receiving-trough, and a saw adapted to cut the tube into sections when supported thereby.

" It also consists in certain improvements in such support, the same being formed of a series of reciprocating arms or levers adapted to intercept the tube when passing from the final receiving-trough, hold it during sawing, and deliver it onto a tube-receiver, such as the cooling-table.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a plant for the manufacture of tubing embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-section 0n.

the line 2 2, Fig. 1.

In the accompanying drawings the furnace 2 is of any suitable construction, being preferably of a regenerative type and long enough to heat blanks of double the ordinary standard length, the furnace being about forty (40) to forty-five feet in length. Mounted in front of the same is anysuitable tube-welding apparatus 3 that illustrated in the drawings being the usual swinging draw-bench used forthe making of butt-weld pipe, the

bench being pivoted at the rear end 4 and having a continuously-running draw-chain 5, the tube-blanks to be welded being connected thereto by means of the tongs 6 and drawn through a welding-bell which is held in the bell-holder 6 at the front end of the bench. At the side of this draw-bench is the sizingroll trough 7 in line with the sizing-rolls 8,

which deliver the tube into the cross-roll trough 9, from which the tube passes through the crossrolls 10 into the final receivingtrough 11. This trough inits preferred construction is provided with the inclined bottom portion 12 with the curved cover 13 hinged at the upper and outer edge of the trough and having suitable lever connections 14, by which the .trough may be opened, so as to discharge the tube in a downward direction over the inclined bottom 12 to a suitable tube-support at the side of the final receivingtrough 11, by which the pipe is supported during sawing. In the preferred construction the tube is discharged from the final receiving-trough and onto the inclined skids 15, which extend down to a suitable cooling-table 16, on which the tubes are carried in slow course to permit the proper cooling thereof.

, The cooling-table shown is provided with inclined bars 17 and has suitable sprocketwheels 18, around which pass the endless chains 19, carrying the fingers 20, there being 1 l l I I ing-table and in normal position their'finger ends 24, extending up in position tointercept and hold the pipe as it passes down the inclined skids 15. These pivoted pipe-supports are operated by any suitable mechanism, that shown being the hand-lever 25, having the arm 26 connected by a suitable strap 27 to the rear arm 28 of the pipe-support 21, so that by the rocking of the lever 25 the pi e-support 21. may be rocked forward into the position indicated by dotted lines and discharge the pipeonto the cooling-tar ble, being then raise 20 in position to receive the next pipe. Located about midway of the length of the finalreceivingtrough 11 is the saw 29, carried on the saw-frame 30, mounted in bearings 31'back of the final receiving-trough, this swinging saw being shown as driven by suitable belt 32 from a motor 33.

In order to raise and lower the saw 29, any suitable mechanism may be emplo ed, and to hold the same fully under controI I- prefei the two hydraulic rams 34 35, one located between thebearing 31 and thesaw 29and connected to an extension 36 of said lever. By means of these hydraulic linders the swing of the saw can be accurate y controlled both for quick action and to prevent undue swing of the saw and its frame.

c In the employment of the above invention the tube-blanks, either in plate or strip form or previously bent into U or tubular skelp form, are preferably fed into the rear end of the furnace, and'when the invention is employed in the making of butt-weld tubing eing preferably fed intofinal heating position and as their edges are brought to proper welding heat the blanks are gras ed by suitable tongs- 6, the welding-belt t own over the same, the tongs connected to the draw.

chain of the welding a paratus, and the blanks thus drawn throng the welding-bells, The I which are caughtin the bell-holder 6*. tongs are then disengagedfrom the welded tube, which is fed to the sizing-rollsfor example, being assed sidewise into the trough 7 'then fed t I ough the sizing-rolls 8, which deliver the tube into the cr0ss-roll trough 9,

. from which the tube passes through the cross rolls 10 and into the final receiving-trough 1.1. tubing it is found that with some of the lar er sizes of pipe the pi e can be cross-r01 ed before it is cut into engths, and in assing along the course above described t 'e pipe must be carried quickly and without delay throu h both the sizing-rolls and cross-rolls, any elays and accidents caused by the In the manufacture of double-length blanks being stopped in their course and cut to length, and then bein fed successively to the same finishing-rolls fieing thus avoided. To properly support the tube during this cross-rolling operation and thereafter when cross-rolling these long lengths, it is necessary that the tubeshall be entirelyinclosed within the final receiving-trough to prevent whipping action caused by the rotation of the lon hot flexible tube. For this purpose the closed or inclosing final receiving-trough 11 is employed but it is desirable to deliver the tube from this final receiving-trough as quickly as practicable, especially where the furnace is running rapidly, so as to leave it free to receive the next tube. This is accomplished withthe present ap aratus by opening the final receiving-trough pipe leaves the cross-rolls, when the tube will slide down the skids 15 until caught by the immediately after the supports 21, which, as illustrated, form the tube-su port beside the final receivingtrgugh, an the, trough 11 can be immediately closed, ready to receive the next tube.

As soon as the tubeis caught by said supports 21 the operator lowers the saw 29, which cuts the blank into two sections, when, through the lever 25 and the connections with said su ports, the two sections of tub ing formed om the single-welded tube are quickly discharged by therocking of the elbow-lever forming the support 21 onto the cooling-table 16, the support being then swung back into position ready to receive the next tube. The apparatus therefore provides for the very quick handling of the tube-- blanks, there being no interference with the movement of the blank in its regular course from the welding apparatus through the finishing-rolls and its discharge from the same, as the cutting of the long tube into lengths occurs after the blanksis delivered froi'n the finishing apparatus.

The invention has the further advantage that the tube is cut into sections while it is still at a high heat and at a heat high enough to provide for cutting the same by means 0 a IIO hot saw, which'requires less power than what is termed a cold saw, which must be used when the tubes are cooled down below a red heat.

What I claim is 1. In apparatus for the manufacture of double-length tubing, the combination with finishing-rolls, of a receiving-trough back of and in line with the finishing-rolls and having a side delivery, a tube-support beside the re ceiving-trough, and a saw adapted to cut the tube into sections when held by said tubesupport. i

2. In apparatus for the manufacture of double-length tubing, the combination with finishing-rolls, of a receiving-trough back of and in line with the finishing-rolls and having a side delivery, a tube-receiver at the side of I30 said trough, a movable tube-support between the final receiving-trough and the tube-receiveradapted to receive, the tube from the final recelving-trough and deliver it to the tube-receiver, and a saw ada ted to out the tube into sections when held y said tube-support.

3. In apparatus for the manufacture of double-length tubing, the combination with finishing-rolls, of a receiving-trough back of and in line with the finishing-rolls and havin a side delivery, a tube-receiverat the side 0 said trough, a pivoted tube-sufpp'ort adapted to swing across the course 0 the tube between the trough and tube-receiver, and a. saw ada ted to cut the tube into'sections when he d by said tube-support.

4. In apparatus for the manufacture of doublelength tubing, the combination with finishing-rolls, of a receiving-trough back of g and in line with the finishing-rolls and having a side delivery, a tube-receiver at the side of said trough, pivoted tube-sup orts between the final receiving-trough an the tube receiver, said supports being formed of elbowlevers having fingers adapted to pass across the course of thetube between the trough and tube-receiver and swing in downwardlyinclined, positionto deliver the tube to the tube-receiver, and a saw adapted'to cut the tube into sections when supported by said fin ers. 1 I

n testimony whereof I, the said AUGUS- YTUS M. SAUNDERS, have hereunto set my hand. I

AUGUSTUS M. SAUNDERS.

Witnesses-z JAMEsI. KAY,

ROBERT C. To'r'rEN. 

